"What is going on with that match?" - Chael Sonnen questions whether Stipe Miocic is next up for Jon Jones
Chael Sonnen has suggested that the long-awaited Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic dream matchup may not materialize next. Jones last fought in February 2020 and later vacated his UFC light heavyweight title.
‘Bones’ confirmed that he’ll be moving up in weight to capture the UFC heavyweight title. Additionally, Jones has been lobbying for heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic to be his first opponent at 265 pounds.
Intriguingly, well before Jones’ call-out earlier this year, Miocic had reportedly agreed to fight him in 2021. Furthermore, with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou out until 2023 due to injury issues, it’s rumored that Jones could face Miocic in an interim UFC heavyweight title fight this September.
Stipe is saying that he will be at his absolute peak in September. I’m disappointed but patient, I want the heavyweight goat at his absolute best. I’ll wait until September. No excuses
Regardless, Sonnen highlighted that while Jones seems to be preparing for the fight, Miocic isn’t showing any signs of training. Speculating about whether the former heavyweight champion is injured, Sonnen stated:
“I was just on Jon Jones’ Instagram, and the guy is training. Is it getting weird? Is that getting weird that Jon Jones is in training? Because I will tell you, from my perspective, it’s been weird for two years. No, I don’t think it’s strange today. He’s back. He says that he wants to fight.”
He further added:
“As a matter of fact, go a step further, [Jones] called out Stipe. We all believed it. We all, as a community, all but marked that on our calendar, and we even put an interim championship up. Everybody accepted it; including Jon, including all of you, and what we thought was including Stipe. Where is that fight?”
Sonnen also insinuated that Curtis Blaydes is the biggest stylistic threat to Jones at heavyweight. Nevertheless, he added that Blaydes is scheduled to fight Tom Aspinall in July. Sonnen opined that beating Blaydes could earn Aspinall a fight against Jones.
Alternatively, Sonnen indicated that fan-favorite heavyweight Tai Tuivasa, who’s set to fight Ciryl Gane in September, could also secure a bout with Jones if he manages to defeat the former interim heavyweight champion.
Watch Sonnen address a possible Jones-Miocic matchup and more in the video below:
Jon Jones is unsure as to whether he’ll fight Stipe Miocic in September
Stipe Miocic last competed at UFC 260 in March 2021, losing his undisputed UFC heavyweight belt to Francis Ngannou via second-round KO. That said, a win over Jon Jones would surely earn Miocic a trilogy matchup and a shot at the undisputed title against Ngannou.
However, during an Instagram Q&A session earlier this month, Jones claimed that his fight against Miocic might be derailed due to the UFC’s “games":
"Somebody said when am I fighting again? I’m hoping to fight Stipe [Miocic] maybe September. I don’t really know. UFC has been playing them games."
Watch the full clip below: